Portable shoe-elongating implement.



H. E. MAINE.

PORTABLE SHOE ELONGATING IMPLEMENT.

APPLICATION rum) JULY 7, 1913.

1,080,91 8. Patented Dec. 9, 1913.

UNITED @TATEB PATENT @FBIQE HERBERT E. MAINE, 0F PROVIDENCE, RHODE ISLAND.

PORTABLE SHOE-ELONGATING IMPLEMENT.

resents.

Application filed July 7, 1913.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, HERBERT E. MAINE, a citizen of the United States, residing at Providence, in the county of Providence and State of Rhode Island, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Portable Shoe-Dlongating Implements, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to portable shoeelongating tools or implements adapted to be employed for stretching and lengthening the upper flexible portion of shoes, and it consists in certain features of construction and combination, substantially as hereinafter set forth and claimed.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a perspective view showing the implement in normal use in a shoe; Fig. 2 is a central longitudinal sectional view of the same; Fig. 3 is a perspective view of the operating lever member of the device, detached; and Fig. 4 is a similar view of a member adapted to be employed in connection with the shoe-elongating tool.

In carrying out my invention I employ a portable main body or standard member A, preferably of wood; the same having its lower portion turned or shaped to approximately fit the inner contour of the rear or heel part of the sides of the shoe cavity; obviously the form of the latter corresponds with the type, variety and molded interior of the shoe. The said member A may be employed for both right and left shoes, without change, and is adapted to be readily inserted into and withdrawn from the shoe. /Vhen the element A is in normal use, its lower end may rest upon the heel part of the shoes insole, the sides of the said member at the same time bearing evenly and snugly against the backstay and adjacent surfaces. The upper part of the standard A may be reduced in size and extend above the top of the shoe to form a convenient grip or handle a for steadying the device while it is being manipulated or adjusted, or in carrying it about. The front side of the standard is cut away transversely to produce a plane surface, a parallel with the longitudinal axis, as clearly indicated in Figs. 1 and 2. In connection with the said standard A (and mechanism, later described, attached to and cooperating therewith) is employed what may be termed a semi-last B, also preferably of wood, adapted to be removably inserted in the forward portion Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Dec. 9, 1913.

Serial No. 777,615.

of the shoe and under its vamp. The toe part of the last B may, if desired, be temporarily shaped at certain points to produce in the shoe-cap corresponding enlargements for the relief of corns and bunion-joints. The back end 6 of the member B is or may be formed at substantially right angles to its longitudinal axis. As thus constructed,

the said plane surfaces a 6, when the implement is in normal use, are practically parallel with each other. By means of manually controlled mechanism mounted in the standard A and located contiguous to its face a the degree of longitudinal separation between the said plane surfaces of the parts A and B may be varied, within fixed limits, to correspond with the extent of the desired shoe-elongation; it being borne in mind that the latter result is effected by in creasing the space intervening between the normallv positioned members A and B.

The following is a description of my improved mechanism, well adapted to be employed in connection with a last B: The relatively stationary standard member A is counterbored at right angles to its plane or front face a to receive and support the enlarged head or flange of a revoluble nut a, the latter being tapped to fit the nonrevoluble endwise movable horizontal screw 0, and having the forward end of the screw secured in a vertically positioned head or follower m, adapted in turn to engage direct with the rear end I) of the last member B; or, if desired, a block 7) may be interposed between the adjacent faces of the follower and last for obvious purposes. The back end portion of the screw extends through the nut and freely enters a chamber 0 formed therefor in the body A. The nut n projects from the face a of the said body, and is rigidly secured to a toothed wheel f, the wheel and nut then being practically one. A space is formed between the back of the wheel and the face a and having the nut extend across the space to support a vertically disposed operating lever h, the latter being mounted to swing or oscillate thereon. The said space slightly exceeds the thickness of the lever, thereby providing ample play or freedom of movement at all times, and irrespective of the force or work exerted by the screw. The lever is provided with an elongated closed opening 0, the upper end of the latter being adapted to rest on the upper side of the nut when the lug or dog 72, fixed to the lever, is in normal engagement with a tooth space. (See Fig. 2.) The length of the opening 0 exceeds the diameter of the nut, plus the depth of the tooth-space. A guard member 7a of sheet metal, having rearwardly bent ends secured to the respective sides of the body A, is disposed vertically edgewise below the screw 0, and having the inner side or face of the guard positioned contiguous to the outer face of the wheel f; the function of the guard is to prevent the wheel and nut from advancing when the lever is being actuated to move the screw rearwardly, preparatory, say to removing the device from the shoe. The guard also serves to hold the operating mechanism in its normal position and relation to the member A. By means of a guide-rod 2', secured to the follower m, and disposed parallel with and below the screw 0 and extending through guard is and into the member A, the follower is caused to move in a true line parallel and in unison with the screw, while at the same time imparting a corresponding movement to the follower, thereby preventing the latter from moving in either a lateral or vertical direction. In manipulating the lever h to advance the screw, as in elongating the shoe, the lever, having its lug h interlocking with the wheel f, is swung to the right in a clock-wise direction (if a right-hand screw) an angular distance, then, lifting the lever to disengage it from the wheel, it is swung back idly to the left, the lug then reengages the wheel by gravity, and the lever is again moved to the right, as just stated, to further actuate the screw; the action being intermittingly continued as desired. The rear end thrust or pressure of the revoluble nut 72 is borne by the enlarged base n of the corresponding counterbore.

The following describes the manner of operation of my improved implement for elongating and distending the uppers of shoes: The last-member B is first selected, prepared and loosely inserted in the forward portion of the shoe, followed by positioning the standard member A, carrying the main operating mechanism, in the rear portion, and at substantially the same time manipulating the lever h to and fro in a step-by-step manner to rotate the wheel and nut, thereby advancing the screw endwise in the nut and pressing the follower snugly against the back end of the last; the continued lever action gradually forces the members A and B farther apart and causes them to elongate the respective heel and toe portions of the more flexible upper and vamp extending above the sole. Obviously, it is practically impossible to elongate the sole part of the shoe, owing to the greater thickness and rigidity of the leather used, and also to the presence of the metal shank or arch, if one be used. The operation may be continued until the desired elongation is effected, or as determined by the judgment of the operator.

In some instances it may be desired to raise the toe-cap, in order to provide the shoe cavity with an increased space for the toe; in such case a suitably shaped piece of leather, 1, or other material, may be temporarily placed in the forward portion of the shoe, and the last gradually forced onto it, the act resulting in correspondingly increasing the toe space. (See Fig. 2.)

The device may be employed to impart a degree of newness to shoes having been worn, or that have become shrunken after being water-soaked and dried; that is to say, the implement is adapted to remove creases, etc., from the upper portion and practically restore the shoe to its original shape and appearance. The implement can also be successfully used in smoothing out wrinkles formed in the lining of the shoe.

What I claim as my invention, and desire to secure by U. S. Letters Patent is 1. A portable shoe-elongating implement or tool, comprising a main standard or body member having its lower part shaped to conform approximately to the backstay and side wall of the heel portion of the shoe cavity, the upper part of the standard being extended to form a handle element, means, including a screw and its nut mounted in said standard for normally actuating-the tool, and having the forward portion of the screw extending from the corresponding face of the standard and disposed at substantially right angles to itvand longitudinally of the shoe, a head or follower element connected to and movable bodily with said screw, said follower arranged, when in nor mal use, to engage the rear face of a last removably positioned in the forward part of the shoe cavity, and manually controlled means for moving the screw, said controlled means consisting of a toothed wheel fixed to said nut and an operating lever having a member engageable with the wheel.

2. In a shoe-elongating implement, the combination of a main standard body member arranged to be removably positioned in the shoe cavity and bear against the backstay thereof, and a screw and nut mounted for movement in said body, said screw having an end extending forwardly from said body, a supporting frame or guard secured to the body part, a slidable guide element, a follower having the forward end of said screw and guide mounted therein, thereby insuring parallelism of movement of said parts, said follower arranged, when in normal use, to bear against the rear end of a last, and manually controlled means, including a toothed wheel, a nut, and an angularly movable lever cooperable with said screw for actuating the device to elongate the upper portion of a shoe.

3. The combination with a standard 1nem her having its lower part arranged to bear against the backstay of a shoe, and a form or last member arranged to be removably positioned in the front portion of the shoe, of a screw element inovably supported in said standard and extending therefrom at substantially right angles, a toothed wheel tapped to fit said screw, a follower interposed between the forward end of said screw and the rear end of the last, and an operating lever having a member thereof arranged to engage the said toothed wheel, whereby in normal use the screw is actuated to increase the distance between the faces of said standard and last-members.

4. In a shoe-expanding device of the general character described, the combination with the vertically extending standard member A arranged to be removably inserted in the rear part of the shoe cavity, of a non-revoluble endwise movable screw mounted in said standard, a revolubly mounted nut engageable with said screw, said nut having a toothed periphery, a longitudinally slotted manually operable oscillatory working lever constructed and aranged to engage and rotate the nut in either direction at will and having said lever capable of being readily disengaged from the nuts rim.

In testimony whereof I have affixed my signature in presence of two witnesses.

HERBERT E. MAINE.

Witnesses:

GEO. H. REMINGTON, CALVIN H. BROWN.

Gopies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. C. 

